Hiero led his charges heroically in battle and overcame over 2 - 1 odds to emerge victorious after battling Hanno in Agrigentum.

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Lucius finally appears on the battlefield 2 days later with his force. He sees that Hanno is nearly broken and decides to assault once again to drive him from the battlefield and from Agrigentum and take all the credit for the victories. He was very disappointed.

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As a result he will be sent back to Rome and when Titus returns from Olbia he will replace him in Sicilly. Until then Hiero will be on his own. I am sure he will be perfectly able to manage.

Plan.

Urbi and the remaining forces in Syracusae are been sent to join up with Hiero. Once his troops have regained some cohesion and reinforcements they will assault next turn. For now he will remain on defense. We have 25% MC at the moment so can maintain Defensive posture.

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In the North Titus will sail with my fleet in Ostia and land in Olbia. My fleet in Neapolis is been sent to Ostia and will then join up with the second fleet next turn.

My reinforcements arrived in Agrigentum and merged with Hiero. Lucius sulks in Syracusae and Titus landed safely in Olbia. He encountered a rabble of rebels which were dispersed with without fuss.

Hiero has managed to get himself drunk as a skunk and is now incapable of carrying out any orders (Locked). Titus will assault Olbia and my two fleets will merge in the sea adjacent to Ostia. The Last time Carthage sent their fleet to intercept it arrived via the West coast of Italy. We will see.

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I now have 11 EP. I plan on saving up enough to get Emporia to join our cause.

No sign of the carthage navy and no movement out of Hanno. Not much at all. Titus conquered Olbia without much of a fuss. He will hang on and build a supply depot. After which I will send him south into Caralis. I'm not going to blockade it for the moment. Am hoping it will act more as a distraction and a worry for my opponent. I will siege it for a while. I may get lucky and breach the walls which will allow me to assault.

Hiero has come to from his drunken stupor and has finally agreed to Assault Hanno. Hanno has recovered a lot of cohesion and hits but I think I have enough to take him. Lucius (AKA Useless) will watch on from Syracusae. I have sent some empty supply carts back to Syracusae to resupply. My fleet is patrolling down the West coast of Italy. I'm not going to send them too far from Italy incase the weather gets bad.

Hiero won the day yet again. Fairly big casualties on both side but the Carthage side suffered more in numbers and in elements. Hanno appeared to be retreating towards Lilybaeum but didn't make it last turn. I think Hiero will help him on. No sign of the carthage navy.

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Hiero's supply situation is becoming a concern. I have 8 carts (Plus 1 building in Messana). All of them are empty. If Hiero isn't successful in driving out Hanno I may have to retreat to sort out my supply situation. I didn't plan that too well. Should have kept a few more carts in reserve so that I could rotate them in and out more effectively.

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Titus is going to march on Caralis. There is a small force in the field defending the province but i think Titus will have enough to drive it from the field.

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I don't think I have shown the victory screen in a while. My VP's and morale are far further ahead than expected. The last couple of victories have given me a big boost in VP's. There is still a long way to go but to be this close to them at this stage is a great position to be in. I considered my navy to be pretty strong at this stage but his is still stronger. And it probably has more heavy warships than me so he still has a considerable advantage there.

Both Hiero and Titus won their respective battles. I underestimated the opposition in Caralis but Titus still performed pretty well.

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I considered briefly following Hanno into Lilybaeum as his force is a vast sorry rabble at this stage. But due to Hiero's supply situation it would be a bit of a victory disease course of action. Wont let that happen to me again. I plan on digging in for the winter and seeing out the siege of Agrigentum.

Titus will return to Olbia to rest and refit. I will return to Caralis in the spring. I left him in assault posture. He will probably eliminate the rest of that force enroute.

I have split my fleet in two and sent them to winter in Neapolis and Ostia.

[ATTACH]39076[/ATTACH]

I have 19 EPs at the moment. I have two options available to me. Get a Siege tower or unlock Emporiae. I am leaning towards unlocking Emporiae as I need every naval element I can get my hands on to hopefully gain some kind of naval superiority. The winning of this game I think will come down to who controls the seas. Any advice is welcome!!

As expected Titus defeated the force in Caralis on his way back to Olbia. Olbia supply output is pretty low so I may have to Evacuate part if not all of Titus's force.

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Pwr value of Agrigentum garrison is down to 229 from 260. Could be a long siege. They don't have a depot but I don't know if they have any supply carts. I have got a handle on Hiero's supply situation and am rotating supply carts in and out of Syracusae. They are a bit vulnerable to interception but I dont think Carthage has the force to spare at this moment to threaten them.

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Here is a look at my replacement situation. The Syracusan elements are the most expensive plus I don't receive any free ones like I do for Rome.

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I was a bit too frivolous with my D's so I have had to make some requisitions in Northern Italy. Am not a fan of using that decision card this early in the game. Loss of loyalty at home is never a sound policy. I have 20 EP's now but am still undecided on what to spend it on.

Nothing too unpredictable occurred across the winter. Rome still rumbles on. Agrigentum gave up the siege last turn. Hanno attempted to break it but was unsuccessful. I unlocked Emporia which added another Trireme squadron and 1 more VP per turn. After I captured Agrigentum Segesta in central Sicily flipped to my side. They saw the writing on the wall.

My focus will stay on Sicily. I had considered taking Malta or Leptis Magna but decided that concentrating on Sicily was the best option. Before I start venturing as far as Leptis Magna I would like to have a stronger fleet led by a more competent Admiral.

Which leads me onto my two new Consuls. Both of which think they are a bit of a Sailor. I was glad of the replacements. Their stats are an improvements on the last two. I had considered putting them in charge of my fleet but thought that they would be better off staying with land units.

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Here's a look at the Objectives screen.

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I have a good VP lead. As long as I don't suffer any cataclysmic losses I think Carthage will find it very difficult to close the gap. They are down to just 7 VP gain per turn gain. My consistent victories have allowed me to maintain a solid Morale lead. It has been sometime since Carthage have been able to get above 90.

My basic plan over the next few turns is to hunt Hanno down. As long as he remains in the open I will attack him. At the moment Hiero is locked in Agrigentum so wont head anywhere. Probably off cavorting with the wenches of Agrigentum! I am sending Scipio to join up with him. He is taking a reformed unit of Heavy Syracusan Cavalry and some supply carts with him.

I purchased another Heavy Warship squadron (310 D's) and more replacements. I have 360 D's left over to keep me going over next few months. If I get an option to sell prisoners I'll buy another Heavy warship Squadron.

I have a feeling that Sicily will turn into a bit of a stalemate. I don't have strong enough fleet (currently) to maintain a blockade of any of the remaining port cities. And Hanno (currently) doesn't have the strength to take back of my conquests. We will see.

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In the north I think I will leave the force here for the moment. I have upgraded the depot there to a level two supply depot. Should suffice to keep me supplied.

No major battles but some interesting events last turn. Received an interesting option in relation to upgrading my heavy warships (HW from now on).

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This will hopefully give me the edge in combat. I am not too sure if I will have to send my ships back into port to refit. Will find out next turn I suppose.

I also have the option to sell more prisoners. Go Slavery!!

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Duilius is too good a commander to leave sitting in Olbia. I am going to send him to command my fleet. Once the upgrades are complete I may seek out combat with the Carthage fleet. The light warship (LS from now on) squadron from Emporiae will pick him up on their way to RV with the rest of the fleet.

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On Sicily Scipio will attack Hanno in Lilybaeum. It looks as if Hanno has managed to recover some cohesion and supply but I think with the morale and the readiness state of my Force I think I can take him. I don’t think Hanno and his army will stay in the field much longer if he suffers more defeats. I fear that he may retreat to Africa and start carrying out hit and run tactics similar to what I have done in the North.

The corvus has increased the pwr value of each of my heavy warships by 100!!!!! Great investment. But I will have to be very careful of any bad weather. Ill have to stick them in port in the Autumn.

I won the battle in Lilybaeum. Hanno had managed to recover far faster than I expected. It was a close run thing. No elements lost on either side but I suspect that if battle is joined next turn we will both hemorrhage them.

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As a result of the improvements gained by the Corvus the cost of building a HW has increased from 310 to 410 D's. Cant complain to much about that. As a result I don’t have enough D's to build another one. Instead I am going to buy more replacements as I expect that they will be required pretty soon!

In the North Duilius will board the Emporian LS and sail to Syracuse where he will meet up with the rest of the fleet. You can see that a Hanno II Magnus has taken command of the defence of Caralis. I am happy he is there and not Sicily. He could potentially resolve Hanno's CP penalty. Last time I checked Hanno's CP penalty was at 25%. I may appoint a preator to take control of the force left behind. I really want to get my hands on Hieros siege train so will prob wait to get the EP's for that. Anyway I think it is probably better to appoint a Preator in the Winter when there is nothing happening. It will allow me the time to get him in position. I always have the option of sending Arti up there. Might just be the answer. The supply situation in Olbia has finally resolved itself. Level 2 depot now in place!

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In the South I have directed Scipio to attack once more. I have also maintained a much better supply rotation this time round so hopefully wont fall into the same trap as last time. I should be victorious. My Grand Fleet will berth in Syracusea for some R&R and await the arrival of their new admiral.

Another victory for Scipio but not the devastation I was expecting. Neither General committing to the attack. Hanno definitely came off the worse though. Plus 40 hits on the retreat.

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At the start of last turn my main fleet had a power value of about 4900. After a few days rest and refit in Syracusae and Duilius inspecting his new corvus on his HW's, the power value of my fleet to 8997! I am going to siege and blockade Lilybaeum. Diulius has a defensive value of 5 and the melee expert trait. I think that will give me the edge during the blockade. As long as the weather stays good.

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Scipio is besieging Lilybeaum from the land side but Hanno is still present in the region (Rome has MC of 95%). I'm going to leave Scipio on defensive posture. I don’t think Hanno has the strength to break the siege. He looked to be retreating towards Drepanum. If he continues I will let him.

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In the North Hanno Magnus has managed to infiltrate Olbia but no battle. Rome still has an MC of 100%. I'm going to leave my force on the defensive. Dont want to risk any kind of defeat. Arti is locked in Sicily so cant move him around this turn.

Duilius has commenced the Blockade of Lilybaeum. Took few hits enroute. Lost 400 pwr. Still at 8500 though. Hopefully be enough.
No battles between Scipio and Hanno. Both side are still recovering their strength. Hanno's supply situation should start to deteriorate soon. Lillybaeum is still under siege. A new HW squadron is making its way to Syracusea. Will rest there for remainder of turn and then join with Duilius next turn.

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In the North Hanno Magnus assaulted our force but the Romans stood fast.

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Status quo shall remain. I expect the Carthage navy to arrive next turn. A rather decisive battle is imminent.

A surprisingly quiet turn. No battles. Little movement, except for the appearance of the Carthage fleet off Lilybeaum. Lilybeaum is still blockaded and besieged. I think the Carthaginians may have been attempting to intimidate us into abandoning the blockade. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) Duilius stood his ground. Hanno and Scipio stare at each other across the battle field as their troops sharpen their swords.

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The Carthage fleet is pretty impressive. They have 18 squadrons. All of them appear to be HW's!! I have 27 Squadrons but only 8 of them are HW's and only 6 of them are equipped with the Corvus. This could be deadly.

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No movement in the North but the region is now pillaged. Supply will be an issue again.

Well, yet again, nothing happened at all last turn. A very quiet campaigning season. The two fleets stared at each other and Scipio and Hanno showed off how many men they have. Carthage will have to attack next turn as I'd say the supply situation in the city must be terrible. The garrison is down to pwr value of 44.

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Hanno II Magnus did abandon his venture into Olbia. He looks to have suffered several hits on his retreat.

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I think the upcoming naval battle will be crucial to the outcome of the game in the near term. If I manage a victory and take Lilybeaum, Sicily is pretty much mine. If I can then hold onto Sicily for two years I think I will win the game. If however the Carthage fleet is victorious and inflicts a serious defeat it could put back my effort to claim Sicily by at least another year, probably more.

I was able to raise more money by selling prisoners. I have also sent Arti to Olbia to take command. I managed to sneak another HW squadron past the Carthage fleet and link up with Duilius last turn. The composition of the fleets are otherwise unchanged. Carthage have been spending a lot of money on raising their morale recently but there is still a 20 point gap.

Well not the devastating fleet battle I was expecting but a battle none the less and, you must be sick of me saying this at this stage a victorious one for Rome.

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I have made a grave error. The last few turns, since the blockade began, I had assumed that the city was besieged. In fact Lilybaeum was not besieged! When I examined the city I saw that the supply value was zero. I had assumed the besieged symbol was hidden behind Hanno's stack. I am going to attack with Scipio next turn. Am sick of waiting. My hotheadedness will no doubt result in another victory!

One of the heavily damaged HW's is going to try and sneak past the Carthaginians and refit in Syracusae.

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Arti made it to Olbia. The LS squadron that delivered him is heading to Ostia to refit.

Been October I am pretty nervous about leaving my fleet at sea. A storm could break and wreck it. I don’t want to abandon the blockade in case I do capture Lilybaeum next turn. I also believe that if Carthage try to break the blockade again I may inflict another defeat on him. No matter what happens next turn I will send my fleet to port.

Lilybaeum still stands but Siege is in effect. Carthage fleet has returned to North Africa. And Scipio decimated Hannos army.

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I can only imagine how upset Carthage are over that defeat. Was not a pretty sight. I got a bump in morale and VP's from the victory. I am well ahead on both counts.

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I think at this stage that victory for Rome is pretty much in the bag. Unless I make some grievous errors. Hopefully I can avoid that.
My fleet is in a very poor state of supply so unless I want to cripple it altogether I am going to send it back to refit in Syracusae. I am going to leave behind enough elements to maintain the blockade for one more turn before I give it up for this year. Scipio is going to sit tight in Lilybaeum. Once Lilybaeum is secured I will let the next Consul chase after Hanno. I also have just enough EP's to get Hiero's siege tower.

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From now on I think I'm going to reduce the number of posts per turn. Maybe every quarter year from now. I think Rome's position is nearly unassailable. My opponent is a bit depressed at his fortunes and may resign. (If I was in his boots I may not have stuck it out this far, I do submit to the odd rage quit!)

Hanno and his army have evacuated to N Africa. Dunkirk style. My blockade and siege of Lilybaeum were unsuccessful. I sent my fleet to Syracusae to refit and rearm.

I received two new cosuls. Not bad but Duilius will be missed.

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In March I sent Heiro and a small force to gain some MC in Drepanum so that I could commence the blockade and siege of that city also in the summer. Drepanum's and Lilybaeum's harbours both exit into the same sea zone. So the intention was to blockade simultaneous. Hiero managed to get a toe hold in Drepanum so I sent a heavier force to assist in the siege and as the weather was fine I sent the fleet to commence the blockade. I also sent the recently purchased siege train from Hiero with the fleet to land in Lilybaeum. I have also taken the two Alea units that were on Sardinia and relocated them to Messana. They will be held in reserve there.
As I watched the last turn unfold I noticed that storms had picked up in two sea zones that are in-between Syrcusea and Lilybaeum. I watched the green balls turn yellow, my fleet got wrecked. Even more so with the Corvus reducing stability of the ships equipped with it. My fleet started out with a Power value of around 8000. It is now 1250!! Most of my squadrons suffered losses between 40% and 60% of their hit points. I am fortunate that I did not lose any elements. I will of course have to abandon the blockades. I will send my fleet back to Syracusea. There still could be storms but I see no choice. If I stay Carthage will just obliterate my fleet anyway. I will leave a token force in Lilybeaum just to maintain some MC and a defensive position. I will abandon Drepanum for now. I will wait in Agrigentum until my fleet has managed to put itself back together, or I have built a new one.

In the North Hanno Magnus has ventured into Olbia with a very small force. I think that maybe he is trying to distract me!

So we are still at it. We are into turn 155 (March 251BC) with 130 to go. There has been a few ups and down but Rome is in a good position. Carthage is fighting tooth and nail for everything.

My entire fleet was obliterated soon after the last post. It got caught in a storm which shattered it and then the Carthage fleet decimated it. I lost the entire fleet and had to rebuild it from scratch. I have managed to dominate the land battles but couldn't take any cites that had a port. I manage to build my fleet back up but nearly lost it again in a similar situation but just snuck it into a port of safety.

As it stands i am 2000 points ahead of Carthage and hold an advantage in men and materials. I think it is just a matter of time before Rome seals the deal. As long as I dont do anything too foolhardy.

Thats it for this one. Apologies for not been able to continue it. Think ill pick a shorter senario next time.